After a eight-year hiatus, R&B singer Maxwell is returning with his long-awaited, oft-delayed fourth studio album, "BLACKsummer'snight," slated for a July 7th release on Columbia Records. The album's first single, "Pretty Wings," debuted today (April 28), with the accompanying video premiering on BET's "106 & Park" this afternoon.

The nine-track set is the first installment of a planned trilogy and was recorded with a ten-piece band. Entirely self-produced by the Brooklyn-born artist, "BLACKsummer'snight" features no guest appearances so far, although at press time Maxwell was still mastering two tracks.

On the lullaby-like "Pretty Wings," Maxwell croons, "I had to set you free, to see clearly / the way that love can be when you are not with me / I had to leave, let love set you free to fly your pretty wings," over xylophone clings and guitar strings.

Other tracks include the regretful "Bad Habits," a mid-tempo number with big horns and layered voice-overs; "Cold," about a cold-hearted lover; the uptempo "Love You," on which Maxwell pleads, "tell me I can be your man / baby let me love you," over an organ groove; the jazz-like "Stop The World," with heavy guitars and kick drums; the piano-laden "Fist Full of Tears;" and the inspirational "Help Somebody," which finds Maxwell singing, "help me be the helping hand / and make a dream come true," over marching band drums.

"Bad Habits" and "Stop The World" are both tentative follow-up singles.

To promote "BLACKsummer'snight," Maxwell will be touring this summer, as well as headlining the Essence Music Fest on July 4th. This trek follows his fall 2008 tour, Maxwell's first in six years. Although not supported by any new material, the tour sold out every stop.

Maxwell's last album, 2001's "Now," has sold 1.8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Singer calls 'Pretty Wings,' the first single from Black, 'a bittersweet love song.'

By Shaheem Reid

NEW YORK — You think it's been a long time since Eminem dropped an album? Shoot, the last time Maxwell put out an LP, Kanye West wasn't even that well known as a producer, let alone a rapper. 50 Cent was an unsigned artist just heating up the streets with mixtapes. T.I. was just known in the trap.

Now was released eight years ago. That was then.

Today, Maxwell seems so relaxed and even more humble than the admittedly shy singer (shy offstage, that is) has ever been. He's sorry if he disappointed fans who have been waiting almost a decade for one of the most soulful and popular singers of the '90s to put out new material. Max, who was 23 when he introduced the world to his classic debut Urban Hang Suite in 1996, says his time off was spent living and enjoying life.

On Tuesday night at the Sony building, Maxwell reintroduced himself. He's releasing three albums over three years called Black, Summer's and Night. Don't be confused: It's a trilogy.

"Three sides of my crazy personality," Maxwell explained of the albums. "Black is dark. Summer's is the lighter side. That album is more of a gospel side — not in the traditional sense, but more like Deepak Chopra meets that minister or that pastor down in the South somewhere. The Night album is ... the ultimate love record.

"I always wanted to do this," he continued. "This was a plan for about six years, and we worked all those songs out. I'm excited to see how people take each record and how they experience each record."

The first single from Black is "Pretty Wings," which Max described as "a bittersweet love song about meeting the right girl at the wrong time."

So what are some of the other songs like? "We got 'Bad Habits,' which is about being addicted to a girl, being addicted to a relationship that's not good for you. But it feels so good that it can't be wrong.

"It's the paradox, the dichotomy that propels me," he said about his inspiration. "I love the polar-opposite things. We live that every day. The double standards. We have that in our lives every day. One thing's good for one but not good for the other. Those are the things that inspire me and the records. At the same time, I don't like to tell people what it all means. I want you to find your own meaning in what I do. It makes it more special to me when I know that. For the many letters I've gotten, people telling me, 'Your song was at my wedding.' It doesn't matter what I thought at the point [of writing the song]. At that point, your bride was walking down the aisle, and I was singing. That, to me, is like, 'Wow.' "

Black is due in July, while Summer's and Night are scheduled for release in 2010 and 2011, respectively.